September 5th.
At five o’clock in the evening
of the 2d of September I commenced my journey back
to Alexandria. During the fortnight I remained
at Cairo the Nile had continued to rise considerably,
and the interest of the region had increased in proportion.
In three days’ time I arrived safely at Alexandria,
and again put up at Colombier’s. Two days
had still to elapse before the departure of the French
steam-vessel, and I made use of this time to take
a closer survey of the town and its environs.
On my arrival at Alexandria I met
two Egyptian funerals. The first was that of
a poor man, and not a soul followed the coffin.
The corpse lay in a wooden box without a lid, a coarse
blanket had been spread over it, and four men carried
the coffin. The second funeral had a more respectable
air. The coffin, indeed, was not less rude,
but the dead man was covered with a handsome shawl,
and four “mourning women” followed the
body, raising a most dolorous howl from time to time.
A motley crowd of people closed the procession.
The corpse was laid in the grave without the coffin.
The catacombs of Alexandria are very
extensive, and well worth a visit. A couple
of miles from them we see the celebrated plain on
which the army of Julius Cæsar was once posted.
The cistern and bath of Cleopatra were both under
water. I could, therefore, only see the place
where they stood.
The viceroy’s palace, a spacious
building inclining to the European style, has a pleasing
effect. Its interior arrangement is also almost
wholly European.
The bazaar contains nothing worthy
of remark. The arsenal looks very magnificent
when viewed from without. It is difficult to
obtain admission into this building, and you run the
risk of being insulted by the workmen. The hospital
has the appearance of a private house.
I was astonished at the high commission
which is here demanded on changing small sums of money.
In changing a collonato, a coin very much used in
this country, and worth about two guilders, the applicant
must lose from half a piastre to two piastres,
according to the description of coin he requires.
If beshliks are taken, the commission charged
is half a piastre; but if piastres are wanted,
two must be paid. The government value of a collonato
is twenty piastres; in general exchange it is
reckoned at twenty-two, and at the consulate’s
at twenty-one piastres.
Departure from Alexandria.
September 7th.
At eight o’clock in the morning
I betook myself on board the French steam-packet Eurotas,
a beautiful large vessel of 160-horse power.
At nine o’clock we weighed anchor.
The weather was very unfavourable.
Though it did not rain, we continually had contrary
winds, and the sea generally ran high. In consequence
we did not sight the island of Candia until the evening
of the third day, four-and-twenty hours later than
we should have done under ordinary circumstances.
Two women, who came on board as passengers
to Syra, were so violently attacked by sea-sickness,
that they left the deck a few hours after we got under
way, and did not reappear until they landed at Syra.
A very useful arrangement on board the French vessel
is the engagement of a female attendant, whose assistance
sometimes becomes very necessary. Heaven be
praised, I had not much to fear from the attacks of
sea-sickness. The weather must be very bad as,
for instance, during our passage through the Black
Sea before my health is affected, and even
then I recover rapidly. During our whole voyage,
even when the weather was wretched, I remained continually
on deck, so that during the day-time I could not miss
seeing even the smallest islet. On
September 10th,
late in the evening, we discovered
the island of Candia or Crete, and the next morning
we were pretty close to it. We could, however,
distinguish nothing but bare unfruitful mountains,
the tallest among which, my namesake Mount Ida, does
not look more fertile than the rest. On the
right loomed the island of Scarpanto. We soon
left it in our wake, and also passed the Brothers’
Islands, and many others, some of them small and uninhabited,
besides separate colossal rocks, towering majestically
into the sea. Soon afterwards we passed the
islands Santorin and Anaph.
The latter of these islands is peculiarly
beautiful. In the foreground a village lies
at the foot of a high mountain, with its peak surmounted
by a little church. On the side towards the sea
this rock shoots downwards so perpendicularly, that
we might fancy it had been cut off with a saw.
Since we had come in sight of Candia,
we had not been sailing on the high seas. Scarcely
did one island vanish from our view, before it was
replaced by another. On
September 11th,
between three and four in the morning,
we reached Syra. The terrible contrary
winds with which we had been obliged to contend during
almost the whole of our passage had caused us to arrive
a day behind our time, to make up for which delay
we only stayed half a day here, instead of a day and
a half. This was a matter of indifference to
those of us who were travelling further, for as we
came from Egypt, we should not have been allowed in
any case to disembark. Those who landed here
proceeded at once to the quarantine-house.
Syra possesses a fine harbour.
From our vessel we had a view over the whole town
and its environs. An isolated mountain, crowned
by a convent and church, the seat of the bishop, rises
boldly from the very verge of the shore. The
town winds round this mountain in the form of several
wreaths, until it almost reaches the episcopal buildings.
The background closes with the melancholy picture
of a barren mountain-chain. A lighthouse stands
on a little neighbouring island. The quarantine
establishment looks cheerful enough, and is situate
at a little distance from the town on the sea-shore.
It was Sunday when we arrived here;
and as Syra belongs to Greece, I here heard the
sound of bells like those of Mount Lebanon, and once
more their strain filled me with deep and indescribable
emotion. Never do we think so warmly of our home
as when we are solitary and alone among strange people
in a far-distant land!
I would gladly have turned aside from
my route to visit Athens, which I might have reached
in a few hours; but then I should once more have been
compelled to keep quarantine, and perhaps on leaving
Greece the infliction would have to be borne a third
time, a risk which I did not wish to run. I
therefore preferred keeping quarantine at Malta, and
having done with it at once.
On the same day at two o’clock
we once more set sail. This day and the following
I remained on deck as much as possible, bidding defiance
to wind and rain, and gazing at the islands as we glided
past one after another. As one island disappeared,
another rose in its place. Groups of isolated
rocks also rose at intervals, like giants from the
main, to form a feature in the changing panorama.
On the right, in the far distance,
we could distinguish Paros and Antiparos, on
the left the larger Chermian Isles; and at length we
passed close to Cervo (Stag’s Island), which
is particularly distinguished by the beauty of its
mountain-range. Here, as at Syra, we find
an isolated mountain, round which a town winds almost
to its summit.
September 12th.
As I came on deck to-day with the
sun, the mainland of the Morea was in sight on our
right, a great plain, with many villages
scattered over its surface, and a background of bare
hills. After losing sight of the Morea we sailed
once more on the high seas.
This day might have had a tragical
termination for us. I was sitting as usual on
deck, when I noticed an unusual stir among the sailors
and officers, and even the commander ran hastily towards
me. Nevertheless I did not dare to ask what had
happened; for in proportion as the French are generally
polite, they are proud and overbearing on board their
steamers. I therefore remained quietly seated,
and contented myself with watching every movement of
the officers and men. Several descended to the
coal-magazine, returning heated, blackened by the
coals, and dripping with water. At length a
cabin-boy came hurrying by me; and upon my asking him
what was the matter, he replied in a whisper, that
fire had broken out in the coal-room. Now I
knew the whole extent of our danger, and yet could
do nothing but keep my seat, and await whatever fate
should bring us. It was most fortunate for us
that the fire occurred during the daytime, and had
been immediately discovered by the engine-man.
Double chain-pumps were rigged, and the whole magazine
was laid under water, a proceeding which
had the effect of extinguishing the flames.
The other passengers knew nothing of our danger; they
were all asleep or sitting quietly in the cabins;
the sailors were forbidden to tell them what had happened,
and even my informant the cabin-boy begged me not
to betray him. We had three hundredweight of
gunpowder on board.
September 14th.
We did not come in sight of land until
this evening, when the goal of our journey appeared.
Malta.
We cast anchor in the harbour of Lavalette at seven
o’clock.
During the whole of our journey from
Alexandria the wind had been very unfavourable; the
sea was frequently so agitated, that we could not
walk across the deck without the assistance of a sailor.
The distance from Alexandria
via Syra to Malta is 950 sea-miles.
We took eight days to accomplish this distance, landing
only at Syra. The heat was moderate enough,
seldom reaching 28 or 29 degrees Reaumur.
The appearance of Malta is picturesque;
it contains no mountains, and consists entirely of
hills and rocks.
The town of Lavalette is surrounded
by three lines of fortifications, winding like steps
up the hill on which the town lies; the latter contains
large fine houses, all built of stone.
September 15th.
This morning at eight o’clock
we disembarked, and were marched off to keep quarantine
in the magnificent castle of the Knights of St. John.
This building stands on a hill, affording
a view over the whole island in the direction of Civita
Vecchia. We found here a number of clean rooms,
and were immediately supplied with furniture, bedding,
etc. by the establishment at a very reasonable
charge. Our host at once despatched to every
guest a bill of fare for breakfast and dinner, so
that each one can choose what he wishes, without being
cheated as to the prices. The keepers here are
very obliging and attentive; they almost all know
something of Italian, and execute any commission with
which they are entrusted punctually and well.
The building for the incarcerated ones is situate
on an elevated plateau. It has two large wings,
one on each side, one story high, containing apartments
each with a separate entrance. Adjoining the
courtyard is the inn, and not far from it the church;
neither, however, may be visited by the new-comers.
The requisite provisions are procured for them by
a keeper, who takes them to the purchasers.
The church is always kept locked. A broad handsome
terrace, with a prospect over the sea, the town of
Lavalette, and the whole island, forms the foreground
of the picture. This terrace and the ramparts
behind the houses form very agreeable walks.
The courtyard of our prison is very spacious, and
we are allowed to walk about in it as far as a statue
which stands in the middle. Until ten o’clock
at night we enjoy our liberty; but when this hour
arrives, we are sent to our respective rooms and locked
up. The apartments of the keepers are quite
separate from ours.
The arrangements of the whole establishment
are so good and comfortable, that we almost forget
that we are prisoners. What a contrast to the
quarantine-house at Alexandria!
If a traveller receives a visitor,
he is not separated from his guest by ditches and
bars, but stands only two steps from him in the courtyard.
The windows here are not grated; and though our clothes
were hung on horses to air, neither we nor our effects
were smoked out. If it had not been for the
delay it caused, I should really have spent the eighteen
days of my detention here very pleasantly. But
I wished to ascend Mount Etna, and was a fixture here
until the 2d of October.
October 1st.
The quarantine doctor examined us
in a very superficial manner, and pronounced that
we should be free to-morrow. Upon this a boisterous
hilarity prevailed. The prisoners rejoiced at
the prospect of speedy release, and shouted, sang,
and danced in the courtyard. The keepers caught
the infection, and all was mirth and good-humour until
late in the night.
October 2d.
At seven o’clock this morning
we were released from thraldom. A scene similar
to that at Alexandria then took place; every one rushed
to seize upon the strangers. It is here necessary
that the traveller should be as much upon his guard
as in Egypt among the Arabs, in the matters of boat-fares,
porterage, etc. If a bargain is not struck
beforehand, the people are most exorbitant in their
demands.
A few days before our release, I had
made an arrangement with an innkeeper for board, lodging,
and transport. Today he came to fetch me and
my luggage, and we crossed the arm of the sea which
divides Fort Manuel from the town of Lavalette.
A flight of steps leads from the shore
into the town, past the three rows of fortifications
rising in tiers above each other. In each of
these divisions we find streets and houses. The
town, properly speaking, lies quite at the top; it
is therefore necessary to mount and descend frequently,
though not nearly so often as at Constantinople.
The streets are broad and well paved, the houses
spacious and finely built; the place of roofs is supplied
by terraces, frequently parcelled out into little
flower-beds, which present a very agreeable appearance.
My host gave me a tiny room, and meals
on the same principle coffee with milk
morning and evening, and three dishes at dinner-time;
but for all this I did not pay more than forty-five
kreutzers, or about one shilling and sixpence.
The first thing I did after taking
up my quarters here was to hasten to a church to return
thanks to the Almighty for the protection He had so
manifestly extended to me upon my long and dangerous
journey. The first church which I entered at
Lavalette was dedicated to St. Augustine. I
was particularly pleased with it, for since my departure
from Vienna I had not seen one so neatly or so well
built. Afterwards I visited the church of St.
John, and was much struck with its splendour.
This building is very spacious, and the floor is
completely covered with monumental slabs of marble,
covering the graves of the knights. The ceiling
is ornamented with beautiful frescoes, and the walls
are sculptured from ceiling to floor with arabesques,
leaves, and flowers, in sandstone.
All these ornaments are richly gilt,
and present a peculiarly imposing appearance.
The side-chapels contain numerous monuments, mostly
of white marble, and one single one of black, in memory
of celebrated Maltese knights. At the right-hand
corner of the church is the so-called “rose-coloured”
chapel. It is hung round with a heavy silk stuff
of a red colour, which diffuses a roseate halo over
all the objects around. The altar is surrounded
by a high massive railing. Two only of the paintings
are well executed namely, that over the
high altar, and a piece representing Christ on the
cross. The pillars round the altar are of marble;
and at each side of the grand altar rise lofty canopies
of red velvet fringed with gold, reaching almost to
the vaulted cupola.
The uncomfortable custom of carrying
chairs to and fro during church-time, which is so
universal throughout Italy, begins already at Malta.
The predilection for the clerical
profession seems to prevail here, as it does throughout
Italy; I could almost say that every fifteenth person
we meet either is a clergyman or intends to become
one. Children of ten or twelve years already
run about in the black gown and three-cornered hat.
The streets are handsome and cleanly
kept, particularly the one which intersects the town;
some of them are even watered. The counters
of the dealers’ shops contain the most exquisite
wares; in fact, every where we find indications that
we are once more on European ground.
When we see the Fachini here, with
their dark worked caps or round straw hats, their
short jackets and comfortable trousers, with jaunty
red sashes round their waists, and their bold free
glance, when we contrast them with the
wretched fellahs of Egypt, and consider that these
men both belong to the same class in society, and
that the fellahs even inhabit the more fruitful country,
we begin to have our doubts of Mehemet Ali’s
benignant rule.
The governor’s palace, a great
square building, stands on a magnificent open space;
next to it is the library; and opposite, the chief
guard-house rears its splendid front, graced with pillars.
The coffee-houses here are very large; they are kept
comfortably and clean, particularly that on the great
square, which is brilliantly illuminated every evening.
Women and girls appear dressed in
black; they are usually accustomed to throw a wide
cloak over their other garments, and wear a mantilla
which conceals arms, chest, and head. The face
is left uncovered, and I saw some very lovely ones
smiling forth from the black drapery. Rich people
wear these upper garments of silk; the cloaks of the
poorer classes are made of merino or cheap woollen
stuffs.
It was Sunday when I entered Lavalette
for the first time. Every street and church
was thronged with people, all of whom were neatly
and decently dressed. I saw but few beggars,
and those whom I met were less ragged than the generality
of their class.
The military, the finest I had ever
seen, consisted entirely of tall handsome men, mostly
Scotchmen. Their uniforms were very tasteful.
One regiment wore scarlet jackets and white linen trousers;
another, black jackets and shoulder-knots, in
fact, the whole uniform is black, with the exception
of the trousers, which are of white linen.
It seemed much more the fashion to
drive than to ride here. The coaches are of
a very peculiar kind, which I hardly think can be
found elsewhere. They consist of a venerable
old rattling double-seated box, swinging upon two
immense wheels, and drawn by a single horse in shafts.
The coachman generally runs beside his vehicle.
October 3d.
To-day I drove in a carriage (for
the first time since my departure from Vienna, a period
of six months and a half) to Civita Vecchia,
to view this ancient town of Malta, and particularly
the celebrated church of St. Peter and St. Paul.
On this occasion I traversed the whole length of
the island, and had an opportunity of viewing the
interior.
Malta consists of a number of little
elevations, and is intersected in all directions by
excellent roads. I also continually passed handsome
villages, some of them so large that they looked like
thriving little towns. The heights are frequently
crowned by churches of considerable extent and beauty;
although the whole island consists of rock and sandstone,
vegetation is sufficiently luxurious. Fig, lemon,
and orange trees grow every where, and plantations
of the cotton-shrub are as common as potato-fields
in my own country. The stems of these shrubs
are not higher than potato-plants, and are here cultivated
exactly in the same way. I was told that they
had been stunted this year by the excessive drought,
but that in general they grew a foot higher.
The peasants were every where neatly
dressed, and live in commodious well-built houses,
universally constructed of stone, and furnished with
terraces in lieu of roofs.
CIVITA VECCHIA
is a town of splendid houses and very
elegant country-seats. Many inhabitants of Lavalette
spend the summer here, in the highest portion of the
island.
The church of St. Peter and St. Paul
is a spacious building, with a simple interior.
The floor is covered merely with stone slabs; the
walls are white-washed to the ceiling, but the upper
portion is richly ornamented with arabesques.
A beautiful picture hanging behind the high altar
represents a storm at sea. The view from the
hall of the convent is magnificent; we can overlook
almost the entire island, and beyond our gaze loses
itself in the boundless expanse of ocean.
Near the church stands a chapel, beneath
which is St. Paul’s grotto, divided into two
parts: in the first of these divisions we find
a splendid statue of St. Paul in white marble; the
second was the dungeon of the apostle.
Not far from this chapel, at the extremity
of the town, are the catacombs, which resemble those
at Rome, Naples, and other towns.
During our drive back we made a little
detour to see the gorgeous summer-palace and garden
of the governor.
The whole excursion occupied about
seven hours. During my residence in Malta the
heat varied from 20 to 25 degrees Reaumur in the sun.